Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) Shares Bought by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Manulife Financial Corp by 871.5% in Q1 2023, owning about 2,023,966 shares valued at $63.06 million.
• Manulife Financial recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.69 per share, missing estimates by $0.01, and had a net margin of 9.58%.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3194, yielding 4.2%, with a payout ratio of 67.02%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC - Free Report) TSE: MFC by 871.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,023,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,815,642 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Manulife Financial worth $63,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Manulife Financial by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 36,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 13,638 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 83.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 19,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Manulife Financial by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 652,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,042,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,148,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,920,000 after buying an additional 160,226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley set a $46.00 price target on Manulife Financial in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Manulife Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MFC traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.28. The stock had a trading volume of 740,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,687. The firm has a market cap of $53.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.55. Manulife Financial Corp has a twelve month low of $23.91 and a twelve month high of $33.07.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC - Get Free Report) TSE: MFC last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Manulife Financial Corp will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.3194 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Manulife Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Manulife Financial's payout ratio is 67.02%.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.